William Gordon "Johnny" Grinnell (December 29, 1909 – June 26, 1997) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He played football at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

from 1932 to 1934. He was the head football coach at

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

from 1946 to 1947. Grinnell was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1997.

Playing career

Grinnell played end for the Tufts football team from 1932 to 1934. He was a protégé of legendary Tufts player Frederick "Fish" Ellis. In 1934, Grinnell led Tufts to an 8–0 record. That year, Tufts ceded only one touchdown in eight games and cumulatively outscored its opponents by a margin of 91–9. On account of his high caliber of play, Grinnell was named to the first-ever Small College All-America team. While at Tufts, Grinnell also played basketball, baseball, and track. He was a three-time member of the All-New England basketball team. Grinnell graduated from Tufts in 1935.

Coaching career

Grinnell coached the Northeastern football team from 1946 to 1947, amassing a 4–8 record.

Death and legacy

Grinnell died on June 26, 1997, due to

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. In August 1997, Grinnell became the first Tufts alumnus inducted into the

. He was one of the first 13 non-

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

players admitted into the Hall of Fame. On April 21, 2018, Grinnell was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Tufts University Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grinnell, William 1909 births 1997 deaths American football ends Basketball coaches from Massachusetts Basketball players from Boston College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College men's track and field athletes in the United States Northeastern Huskies football coaches Northeastern Huskies men's basketball coaches Tufts Jumbos baseball players Tufts Jumbos football players Tufts Jumbos men's basketball players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Boston American men's basketball players Track and field athletes from Boston